Some Nightmares Make Dreams Come True
by alahnasaurus-fez
Summary: Tony has another nightmare... and it changes everything. More of a comedy fic now, will go along the progression of their relationship. No longer a one shot, just going to see where this goes. Movieverse, slightly AU set after IM2 but as though the roof scene didn't happen. I like to play with beginnings. Now a definite strong-ish T rated fic Chapter 7 is now up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi there readers. It seems you have stumbled upon my fanfic, this is my first fanfiction that I've ever written, well that's a lie really... I did a Pepperony fic for a piece of English coursework in which I got an A* :D Anyways on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't and probably won't ever own Marvel or any of the characters and actors related to the franchise... That doesn't mean I can't dream though!**

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_"Pepper!" he screamed at the top of his voice, flying as fast as he could to his mansion in Malibu. 'No this can't be happening,' Tony thought to himself, 'she can't be hurt.' He landed in the living room still clad in his gold-titanium armour, "Jarvis check for Pepper and any Intruders." he asked, a hint of desperation in his voice as Jarvis performed the scan showing the results on the helmet's HUD. But before the AI could complete the scan, Tony heard a scream; it sent shivers down his spine._

_"PEPPER!" he shouted, running down to the workshop following the deafening scream of someone in pain. 'No please don't hurt her, please,' he prayed, this was all his fault. He should've finished off that gang leader, who terrorised innocent people in the Far East while he had the chance, and not flown off thinking he was dead. Now he'd gotten hold of Pepper, his Pepper, and was hurting her. Tony could feel a tear run down his cheek, how could he have let this happen?_

_Tony entered his workshop and searched frantically looking for any sign of Pepper, his boots making metallic thuds as his walked, "Pepper…" His voice was no longer desperate but terrified; terrified of what that bastard could have done to her._

_"…Tony?" A weak voice came from the centre of the workshop. Tony's heart skipped a beat, 'She's still alive thank god,' he thought as then ran to where her voice was coming from, pulling off his helmet. "Pepper… are you oka-" He stopped talking as soon as he saw her lying on the floor, covered in cuts and bruises, with a gun pointed at her. He felt an enormous pang in his chest and it wasn't because of the reactor._

_He stared at her for a few moments before turning his head to the man with the gun, "Please… Don't hurt her," he pleaded, scratch that, begged, "I'll do anything, please."_

_The man laughed, but lowered his gun, "The great Tony Stark reduced to begging because of his worthless little personal assistant."_

_Tony snarled at him, "Pepper isn't worthless; she's the one person who keeps me fighting."_

_"Oh really," the man smirked, "Well let's see how you do when she's dead!" Before he had finished his sentence, the dark skinned man raised his gun and shot Pepper in the stomach._

_"NOOOO!" Tony screamed as he leapt forward and floored the bastard, firing one of his repulsors straight into his chest, twice to make sure he was dead. He turned his head to Pepper's still form. Jumping over to her and ripping off his gauntlets, Tony knelt beside her, cradling her in his arms and gently stroking her face, "Pepper… look at me Pep." he whispered feeling the tears run down his cheek. Her head turned towards his, she looked so sad._

_"Tony… I-" Pepper spoke, but he cut her off._

_"Shhh, stay still everything'll be alright I'm so sorry this is all my fault," Tony said, looking into those beautiful blue eyes._

_Pepper coughed some blood and spoke whilst looking straight into his eyes, "I… s-sorry too T-tony…" Were the only words she could manage before her eyes rolled to the back of her head._

"NO!" Tony screamed sitting upright in his bed… wait, his bed? He was drenched in sweat too. 'It was just a dream…' He thought to himself, 'Just another nightmare.' And then that was when it hit him, one day it might not be a dream, one day Pepper could get hurt, or even worse, killed, and Tony wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. That's was when he broke down.

**Elsewhere in Tony's Mansion**

It was half past eleven in the evening and Pepper had just finished the last of the work for today, she was about to leave when the familiar British voice of Jarvis called out to her, "Miss Potts, I believe Mr Stark is experiencing another one of his nightmares."

"Are you sure Jarvis?" she asked, looking up to the ceiling. She really wanted to go home, but she couldn't just leave the man she cares about while he was having a bad night.

"Yes I am quite sure Miss Potts, his pulse is elevated and Mr Stark appears to be crying." responded the AI.

"Oh god…" Pepper whispered. Tony had never cried before, well not while she'd been there. She slipped of her shoes and padded over to Tony's bedroom, taking a deep breath she gently rapped her knuckles against the door, "Tony? Can I come in?" she asked softly. When no answer came she slowly pushed open the door and entered.

Pepper's eyes went straight towards the shaking figure on the bed, 'Oh Tony…' she thought as her heart almost broke. She sat down on the bed next to him, the look on his face made her realise just how vulnerable he could be at times. She reached out and stroked the hair off of his sweat covered face, not caring if she was being unprofessional, "Tony, it was just a nightmare."

"It w-wasn't though," he stuttered, refusing to look at Pepper, she frowned, 'it must've been really bad if he's this shaken up'she thought as her hand continued to run her hand through his damp hair. Tony wiped away some of the tears that were running down his face, he hated it when Pepper saw him in a vulnerable state, but she'd never seen him like this and it scared him, would Pepper –the one person who mattered to him- think less of him? "It was about you…" He trailed off not wanting to retell his hellish dream, it already broke his heart once, and he didn't want it to happen again.

"Tell me Tony, it'll make you feel better honest," she said slowly stroking his shoulder in an effort to comfort him, 'He dreamt about me… why, I'm just his PA,' "C'mon sit up," Pepper requested, and she waited for him to sit upright; she'd never seen him like this not even from the nightmares he had had about Afghanistan. "Tony, what happened in the nightmare?" she asked, gently covering his hand with her own.

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat, his heart skipping a beat when her hand touched his, and began to speak, "I h-had come back from a mission, knowing that y-you were in danger and you were being held at gunpoint by some bastard and th-then," He looked at her, his eyes full of hurt and pain. Pepper knew where this probably going but gestured for him to carry on, "And then he shot you… and there was nothing I could do about it, and, and, I feel so bad about it, 'cause I know one day it could actually happen and someone could take you away me," Tony finished and let out long breath as another tear fell down his cheek, he didn't feel any better despite what Pepper had said, actually he felt worse, having to tell her that he'd dreamt about her being killed.

"Oh, Tony…" she whispered; feeling slightly touched at how much it hurt him to think of her leaving him, Pepper brushed away the tear with her thumb and smiled weakly, "I'm just your personal assistant, why would it make you feel so bad?"

"Because I fucking love you, that's why!" he yelled, then stared at her like a deer in head lights when he had realised what he'd just said and waited for Pepper to respond, even if it were to run out of the room and reject him. However she didn't even do that, she just sat there, in silence, not even looking at him, her hands resting on her knees and staring into space, 'He loves me?'Pepper thought dumbstruck.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that. I wasn't thinking straight and you were never meant to hear that and…" Tony looked at Pepper. Sweet, beautiful, smart Pepper, "and… Please say something!"

Pepper looked Tony in the eye and swallowed the lump that was in her throat, "What do you mean I was never meant to hear that?" She asked, confused as to why he seemed to regret saying it, granted it wasn't said in the most romantic way.

He could see the hurt in her eyes, and he couldn't bare it so he looked down at their, still linked, hands, "I was never gonna tell you, ever, cause I'm Tony Stark, the billionaire _playboy _I'm not supposed to fall in love, shit, I've never _ever _felt like this before and, it hurts," Tony admitted, not sure as to why he was saying this to her, she would never feel the same. Pepper would always just see him as her boss-slash-friend who used to sleep with random bimbos. "But it hurts more when I think about you rejecting me, and I understand why you will, and I ju-"

"Tony, who said anything about me rejecting you, hm?" Pepper interrupted, a small smile gracing her face, slightly shocked at her own words. Snapping his head up to looks her in the eyes, those beautiful blues eyes, 'I could stare at them all day'he thought as her words sunk in, "I'm sorry, what did you j-just say?" He asked, trying to read her face but failing to see anything except for the small smile, "Why're you smiling?"

Pepper laughed slightly and shook her head, "To say you're a genius you aren't particularly smart at times are you?" She squeezed his hand, "I'm not going to reject Tony, you have no idea how long I have waited for you to say you love me, to be honest I was expecting a more romantic setting but still…" 'She's been waiting for me to say it?'He said to himself, his jaw gone slack, 'Does that mean she…?'

She laughed again, almost reading his thoughts as she watched his emotions pass freely over his face, after knowing someone for over ten years it was a pretty simple task especially when the guy only ever opened up to one person, "Yes, Tony…" Pepper took a deep breath a looked into his chocolate brown eyes, "I love you too." Then she smiled at him, finally glad that she'd told him, it was the one thing she had truly wanted to say to him when he came home after three months.

"Y-you love m-me," Tony repeated, unable to comprehend what she had just said, the only person he had ever truly loved returned his feelings, "You love me," He said once more, a goofy grin spreading across his face.

"Yes I do, now there's no need to keep repea-hmmm!" Pepper was abruptly cut off as her lips were crushed by Tony's –who had enough of her talking– at first she was a wee bit shocked, but soon relaxed into the kiss and gladly returned it with just as much force, tangling her fingers within his shaggy dark hair.

He couldn't believe this was happening he was _kissing _Pepper, and more importantly she was kissing him back! Tony sighed happily into the kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around her slim body and pulled the love of his life closer. Using a hand at the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, running his tongue along her soft lips, asking for entrance, to which she complied whole heartedly, letting him explore her mouth with his tongue. She hummed lightly into his mouth before experimentally sliding her tongue against his, eliciting a small moan from him.

Several minutes of passionate kissing later, Pepper reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to die of oxygen deprivation, and rested her forehead on his, her eyes closed and, her fingers still tangled in his hair, "Wow…" was all she could breathe out, still coming to terms to the fact that she had just made out with Tony Stark, the man she loved.

"You got that right," Tony panted and she could feel the smirk radiating off his face. Both hands were on her back, holding her close, he feared that if he let go of Pepper he'd wake up and realise it was all another torturous dream. Pulling his head back a few inches he smiled, not the smile that he showed to the press to mask his emotions, but a proper smile the one that only his parents and Pepper had ever witnessed, "I love you Pepper Potts,"

Upon opening her eyes to his words, Pepper was taken aback at the smile he had, so much so that she felt her heart melt, "I love you too Tony Stark," She smiled softly, running her fingers through his damp hair. Then the look in Tony's eyes changed, he looked almost vulnerable, and it nearly broke her heart, "Tony…? Are you okay?" She whispered, unsure what to do, it was like he'd had another nightmare, but worse.

"C-can you stay with m-me?" He asked, he voice almost breaking, he was worried that he'd have another nightmare if she wasn't close by, "Please?" He looked up at her with pleading eyes, truly scared that she would just disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Of course I will Tony," Pepper smiled reassuringly, knowing that he was asking her to stay and not to have sex with him, and that proved to her even more that he was a changed man, and that she knew they could have a relationship, albeit a unconventional one but they would make it work, "C'mon scooch over, at least give me some room," She teased hoping it would lighten the mood, and it seemed to work because Tony smiled weakly as he made room for her on the bed.

"Thanks Pep'" Tony whispered, as he watched Pepper shrug off her blazer and kick off her shoes. He was too busy ogling her beauty that he failed to hear her say she was stealing one of his t-shirts and a pair of cotton trousers and only snapped out of his trance when he felt her slip into his bed beside him, "Are you wearing my clothes?"

She rolled her eyes and smirked, "Yes I am did you fail to hear me say I was getting changed in your bathroom?" Shuffling closer to him, Pepper rested her hands on his chest, either side of the arc reactor and kissed it, she had always thought it looked beautiful –except when it was poisoning and almost killing him– and now couldn't imagine him without it.

That's when Tony realised he was never going to let Pepper go, one of the reasons why he stopped sleeping around was because he was worried women would see him as a freak with the arc reactor implanted in him –only Rhodey, Pepper and a few others knew it was actually a part of him and not the suit– and now, she was in bed with him accepting his flaw, the reason he was still alive. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her hair, maybe this whole relationship thing wouldn't be that hard right?

"Hey, uh… Pepper," He mumbled into her hair, "In the morning can we talk about us cause well… I um, want to do this right…" He hoped she would understand what he was trying to say, he was useless when it came to expressing his feelings, and his lack of stable relationships didn't help that much either, but he knew the basics, take her out on dates and see if she wanted to take it slow.

"Me too," Pepper whispered, snuggling closer to him, the soft whirring of his arc lulling her to sleep, "Don't worry, we'll sort this all out and I expect a proper date and no flying off in that suit okay?" She joked, tilting her head back to kiss his goatee.

"I promise," He smiled before letting out a long yawn, seemed he was a lot more tired than he first thought and nuzzled his head against her head as he closed his eyes, "Good night Pepper… love you…"

Smiling she kissed him once more, "Love you too…" Pepper tucked her head under his and rested her hand over the reactor, revelling in its warmth before following Tony's lead, soon drifting off to sleep as well.

It was safe to say Tony wasn't plagued by any more nightmares and Pepper had the best night's sleep in a long time.

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**A/N: So uh, yeah that was it, I hope you enjoyed. Now I need your help, I'm sure whether to keep this as a one shot or to carry it on, so put a review -good or bad both mean a lot to me :)- and say what you'd like to happen with this. 'Til next time ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey readers, sorry for not updating sooner, tonnes of mock exams, I had writers block. Then I was ill and felt like I had been possessed by satan... but anyways, here's the second chapter... FINALLY! So hope you guys enjoy ;)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Marvel or Robert Downey Jr... yet *evil grin***

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The sound of Jarvis, announcing the time and weather, was what roused Pepper from her peaceful slumber, opening her eyes before yawning, momentarily confused by the bright glow in front her, then all the memories of the previous night came back to her. She grinned, pulling herself closer to him, she looked up at Tony's face, 'He looks so adorable when he's asleep' she mused, kissing his neck before sitting up and stretching, letting out another long yawn.

"Where you goin'?" A voice sounded, muffled by the pillow, Tony opened his eyes and let his gaze wander across her back, 'Bloody hell, how can she look so gorgeous wearing my baggy clothes?' He thought sitting up and wrapping his arms around her from behind her, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck, "Think I was still asleep?"

Pepper smiled to herself, surprised at how affectionate Tony was being, "Might've done," She replied, lowering her arms and resting them on top of hers, enjoying the warmth his body brought, "I was going to go downstairs and make us some breakfast, but seeing as you're up now; it can wait," Reluctantly, she unwrapped his arms from around her and turned to face him, almost laughing at the adorable pout on his face, 'since when could he pout like that?!' Pepper thought staring at his face, "What's with the pout?"

"I was comfortable…" He mumbled, still pouting, not happy that she had moved from him, but at the same time glad, because he wanted to talk to her about what was going to happen. They had after all just admitted how they felt about the other. However Tony Stark may have been a genius but he had never been good with relationships; ever, which is a major reason as to why he used to sleep around so often. Sighing, Tony opened his mouth to start speaking, not knowing exactly what to say and just ended up looking like a fish out of water, which earned a badly supressed laugh from Pepper. He looked at her, hurt showing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh," Pepper giggled –which despite feeling hurt Tony found rather cute– and took hold of his hands, "You just looked so lost," She explained, rubbing the backs of his knuckles with her thumbs, knowing that he wanted to talk, "Look… I know you find talking about your feelings difficult, you're a guy after all," She smiled softly, glad to see him smile back.

Tony smiled weakly, "Thanks… for understanding," He looked down at their hands, amazed at how understanding Pepper was being, he felt his chest tighten and knew it had nothing to do with the arc reactor. He sat, thinking of what to say, squeezing her hands gently, "Right… well um, I know we've already said 'I love you' and even I know that's something you say after months of dating and uh… well we haven't been dating, and I want to try this whole dating thing and-"

"Quit rambling Tony," Pepper smirked, leaning forward and placing a light kiss on his forehead, she knew what he was getting at and hoped he would understand her request, "I know what you're trying to say and yes I'd like to date you but…" She hesitated, and looked down at their hands, 'Will he understand how I feel about this' She thought, 'Will he not want to?'

"But…?" He dragged out encouragingly, confused at her seemingly sudden hesitancy, 'Was it something I said? Is she regretting last night?' Tony mentally slapped himself, 'She just said she wanted to date you duh!'

"I wan-" Pepper swallowed the lump in her throat and look up at him again, ocean blue met with chocolate brown, "I want to take things slow…" She immediately looked down, feeling the blush creep onto her face. 'That's it?' Tony thought, unsure as to why she would feel embarrassed about wanting to take it slow, he did too, for once he was going to make sure he wasn't going to mess things up.

"Me too," He said softly, tilting her head up by the chin with his finger, and meeting her obviously shocked expression, "I was just about to say that. Pepper I can honestly say that I have only ever had one girlfriend, when I was 12, and it didn't even last summer vacation," He hoped his little confession made her see just how hopeless he was.

Pepper couldn't help but chuckle slightly at Tony, but she didn't laugh as much as she wanted to. Since working for Tony she'd only ever had two long-ish-term relationships, and the most recent had ended nearly four years ago, "Don't worry about it, I'm not too good with this kind of stuff either. But I want to make this work, so you willing to give it a try?" She asked, smiling reassuringly at him.

Tony nodded, not able to trust his voice, that smile she gave him was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen, and in that moment he was determined to always make her smile like that, "I can try, I _want _to," He murmured, a little nervously but smiled all the same, "You have no idea how much I want this to work,"

She couldn't help but smile at his sincerity, the fact that he wanted to make this, whatever this was, "I'm glad," Pepper smiled again and leant forward to give him a chaste kiss, "Don't look at me like that, some of us actually have to work," She stated upon seeing him pouting, knowing he thought he would be getting more than just a peck on the lips, "Now have a shower and get dressed and I'll make you some breakfast,"

"…Fine," Tony rolled his eyes teasing earning a playful slap on the arm from Pepper, 'maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all' he thought as he stood up and walked over to his ensuite bathroom, and grinned at her, his head peeking out from around the door, "Wanna join me?" He asked, smirking suggestively and only just managed to dodge the incoming shoe, shutting the door behind him and chuckling to himself.

"Ugh! You are such a pervert Tony!" Pepper muttered, glad that there was a door between them otherwise he would've been making fun of how red her cheeks were. Sighing, she smiled to herself and left his room, heading to the guest room she sometimes used when working late at Tony's, to get changed into her work clothes that she left there too. After getting changed she headed into the kitchen to cook Tony something for breakfast, pulling out a frying pan and the instant pancake mix from the cupboards and set to work, knowing he would fly down the stairs as soon as he smelt the cooking.

For someone who wasn't a morning person, Tony managed to shower fairly quickly and was out of the shower in less than 10 minutes. Soon as he entered his room again he could already smell the faint scent of pancakes drifting up from the kitchen. He dressed at lightning fast speed, putting on a pair of tattered jeans and a black wife beater with a hole cut out for the reactor, and ran down the stairs, still drying his hair with the towel when he'd made it to the kitchen. "Are you making pancakes?" He asked the obvious question, putting the towel down on the table, his hair sticking out in all directions.

"No I'm making cheesecake," Pepper said sarcastically, turning her head to grin at him, "You know to say you're a genius, you are pretty dumb sometimes," She giggled as the last pancake was finished, and put it onto a plate with the others and turned around to hand Tony a plate, "What the hell have you done to your hair?" She asked suppressing a laugh.

"Dried it duh," He explained, sitting down at the table, eyeing the plate, didn't Pepper know his pet peeve? "I don't like being handed stuff." He muttered, annoyed with himself, thinking that she would be the exception to his weird habits.

"Yes you have dried it but it looks like you've plugged yourself into the electrics," Pepper smiled, taking a seat next to him and nearly fainted at the smell coming off him, 'why does he always smell so good?' She couldn't help but think as she put the plates down on the table and slid one over to Tony, and flattened down his hair, "I know you don't,"

"Thanks," Tony mumbled, smiling over to her and started to eat his pancakes. There was one thing that was stuck in the back of his head, how the hell did he ask her out on a date? He knew the basics and that taking it slow meant no _sleeping _together. But other than that he was stumped, 'Ask her out to the movies maybe?' He thought, taking a bite of pancake.

"Tony I can practically hear the gears turning in your head," Pepper smirked, finishing off her breakfast and pushed her plate away, "You're over thinking something. What is it?" She asked and turned in her seat, resting her hand on his forearm, silently encouraging him to talk, knowing how hard he found to talk about this kind of thing.

Blushing, Tony put his fork down and swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried to figure out what to say, "Um, well, I wanted to uh, ask you out… on a date," He rubbed the back of his head, mildly embarrassed at how nervous he was being, fair enough he'd never really asked anyone out on a date before, so being nervous was to be expected but he was Tony effing Stark he wasn't supposed to get nervous ever.

Pepper could help but smile at his attempt at asking her out, "I'd like that," She smiled softly, squeezing his arm, 'oh god he looks cute when he's all nervous' She thought, leaning forward to kiss his cheek, "Where was you thinking?"

"Um, the movies?" He suggested, blushing even more, refusing to look at her, "I dunno, what do you do on a first date?" He groaned in frustration, putting his face in his hands, 'Why is this so hard?' He thought, waiting to hear Pepper laugh at what he thought was a childish suggestion.

Smiling, Pepper shook her head, confused as to why he was embarrassed about asking her out, "I'd like that. And going out to the movies is fine for a first date," She assured him, trying to pull his hands away from his face, "But there is one thing… I'm not sure I want people to know about us yet,"

Tony finally looked up at Pepper, he'd never thought about other people knowing about them until now, the press would be on them like vultures, but then the bad guys who wanted to hurt him, if they found out about him and Pepper then they could use her against him. It'd be like his nightmare all over again. "I-I don't want anyone to k-know either," He agreed, covering one of her hands with both of his, "Don't worry I'll figure out a way of hiding so no-one knows it's us," He smiled, already thinking of how he could disguise the arc reactor, maybe shaving off his goatee might help too.

Pepper smiled, proud at how hard he was trying to make this, _them, _work, "I'm sure you'll figure something out," She leant forward and kissed him softly, pulling away before things got too far, "Like I said earlier, some of us have work to do," She stood up, reluctantly pulling her hand from his grip and turned to leave when she felt him grab her wrist.

"Wait, um would you um, like to go to the um, movies with me tonight?" Tony asked nervously, rubbing the back of his head with the hand that wasn't holding onto Pepper's wrist. Brilliant. He'd developed a nervous habit; he'd never had a nervous habit before, ever. Trust Pepper to prove him wrong though.

Smiling, Pepper cupped his cheek and stroked it with her thumb, "I'd really like that," She replied, still processing the fact that Tony Stark had just asked her out on a date, "I've got to work at the office 'til five so pick me up from my place at seven?" She suggested, placing a light kiss on his forehead.

Tony nodded and leaned into her touch, "Sounds good," He smiled, and finally let go of her wrist, mentally sighing to himself 'now that wasn't too hard, was it?' He was brought out of his day dream when he felt Pepper's lips on his and heard her say something about seeing him later, but he wasn't really paying attention as he was ogling her butt as she walked away, "Um, yeah…" He gulped, feeling his jeans become a little uncomfortable, "See you later…"

Waiting until he was sure Pepper had left the mansion, Tony went back upstairs to have a very cold shower and set about figuring out how to hide himself for his first proper date in over 20 years.

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**A/N: TA-DAAA! Hope you guys liked it, if you did then review/fav it and I'll try and get the next chapter up a bit quicker than this one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ugh D: So sorry this took ****_so _****long to update, but every time I tried to write something my head just went 'nope not gonna happen' Oh well. Here it is at long last their first date :D Probably why it took me so long to write, I have no experience in the dating area :/ But I hope you guys enjoy and thanks to acitizenofasgard for pushing me to finish last night! :D On with the story**

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Seven o'clock that Friday evening came around all too soon for both of them, Tony was in his room twiddling his thumbs, praying to whatever it was up there that his crazy plan would work, sighing he stood up and went to his bathroom and picked up his razor, "Well here goes nothing," He muttered to himself.

Meanwhile Pepper had half her wardrobe strewn across her bedroom floor, "Oh god what am I going to wear?" She said to no-one in particular, sighing she sat on the edge of her bed and looked at the various items of clothing, trying to decide what would be suitable for a date, to the movies, with Tony Stark. Finally she found something, a dark green, knee length dress and black leggings, Pepper looked at the clock, 6:45, 'I'd better get ready' she thought before smirking to herself, 'I can take my time, it's not like he's gonna turn up on time'

At five to seven, Tony stood at Pepper's apartment door, he'd never been to her place before so it was a good thing Jarvis could inform him of that small detail, he ran a hand nervously through his hair, since when had he ever been this nervous? Hesitantly he raised his hand and knocked on her door, 'Too late to back out now' He thought as he heard shuffling coming from the other side of the door.

"Shit!" Pepper muttered to herself, "He's five minutes _early? _Did he hit his head or something?" She gathered up the remaining clothes and quickly put them back in her wardrobe, she could neaten it out later. Walking over the door of her apartment, she let out a long breath and opened the door, "Hey Tony you're ea- what the hell?!" Pepper nearly yelled, covering her mouth with the hand that wasn't holding open the door, "Get in 'ere before someone sees!" She hissed and dragged Tony into her apartment by his leather jacket.

"Huh?!" Tony stumbled into her apartment, confused at her odd outburst, it was so unlike Pepper. After regaining his balance and straightening his jacket, he looked at her waiting for a more, 'detailed' response, "Well?" He smiled sheepishly at her and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Wh-what do you think?"

Staring at him wide eyed, Pepper could only think to point out the obvious, "You're… you're _blonde_!" She stared at the blonde unkempt mess on top of his head, she could tell he'd attempted whatever he had done himself as there was the odd bit of brown sticking out here and there, 'What the hell was he thinking? Probably nothing' She thought, but she couldn't help but think how good he looked as a blonde, and she quickly felt herself blushing and looked at the floor.

"Yes, I'm blonde," He smirked, running a hand through his hair, 'Can't believe she hasn't noticed the other thing I've done' he smirked to himself, "It was the only thing I could think of, and don't worry it's not that permanent stuff, it'll last a few days that's all," Tony explained and ran his hand across his face, "Plus I got rid of the goatee…" He said, waiting for her to explode, he would tease her all the time that he would shave it off, "Please don't kill me," He added quickly.

"I-I-I'm not going to kill you Tony, yet," She smirked, looking up at him and couldn't help but think how different he looked without the goatee, for all the years she'd worked for him, she had never seen him clean shaven, "You look younger," Pepper observed, "And I'm surprised how well you've thought this through, I'm guessing Jarvis gave you some help,"

Tony smirked, "Maybe a little, so uh," He looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling nervous again, "Yo-you ready to go?" He asked, smiling shyly at her.

"Yeah let just grab my shoes and bag," Pepper replied, starting to feel nervous all over again as she quickly went back into her bed room to pick up her small shoulder bad and slipped into a pair of green pumps, then shrugged into her favourite black jacket and took a deep breath before going back to where her nervous wreck was waiting for her, 'Wait… when did Tony become _my _nervous wreck?' She thought, as she stopped in front of him, "I'm ready," She smiled and reached to take hole of his hand.

"O-okay," Tony nodded and looked down at their hands, 'This feels nice… just holding her' He thought as they exited her apartment and walked out of the building towards his car, "Sorry for being like a nervous teenager," He mumbled, pulling his car keys out of his pocket, he hated feeling like this, all nervous and sweaty, lost for words whenever he looked at her, but unknown to him Pepper was feeling exactly the same.

Pepper smiled and leaned forward to softly kiss him on the lips, "It's fine really, I'm nervous too, it's not every day you go on a date with Tony Stark," She smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly, "And so far you're not doing too bad, despite the whole nervous wreck part," She giggled and kissed him again before getting into the passenger seat of Tony's Audi.

"Thanks," He smiled, feeling a slight blush creep up his cheeks and hopped into the driver's seat, starting the car and sped out of the apartment blocks car park, "And I could make it every day you go on a date with me," He smiled, hoping to prove yet again that he _wanted _to have a serious relationship with her.

"I think every day is a little too much," Pepper giggled and put the back of her hand to her mouth trying to muffle the sound, "Once a week is good enough for me, you forget I see you near enough every day," She pointed out as Tony pulled into the cinemas car park.

"Oh yeah… but that's as my PA… not as my uh…" Tony hesitated, wasn't it a little too soon to be calling her that; they hadn't even technically started their first date yet! "my, uh girlfriend…" He looked over to Pepper and saw the dark pink tint to her face, "I can call you that right?"

Blushing more Pepper simply nodded, lost for words, 'He just called me his girlfriend' She said to herself, as she watched Tony get out of the car before getting out herself and soon felt Tony's calloused hand wrap around hers, "Girlfriend's okay Tony," She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I'm glad," He smiled as they walked into the cinema, fortunately no-one seemed to recognise him and everything seemed to being going okay as far as their date was concerned, "What movie you wanna see?" He asked, not entirely sure what film he wanted to watch himself, he'd seen trailers on the TV, but they all looked pretty good, and of course being Tony Stark he just couldn't quite choose.

Still holding onto his hand, Pepper stood a little closer to him as she looked at the movies that were on; one in particular caught her eye, "SkyFall? I was meant to go see it with my brother and his eldest kid two weeks ago, but _someone _decided to play superhero and get run over by a tank," She replied with a hint of a smirk to show that she wasn't really that annoyed at him, she was just worried when he had come back from a mission covered head to toe in bruises.

"hey, I wasn't the one driving the tank, therefore not my fault," He smiled and pulled out his back pocket, and handed Pepper some money, "You, um wanna grab some drinks while I pay for the tickets?" Tony suggested and reluctantly let go of her hand so that he could get in line for the tickets.

Pepper walked over to where drinks were sold and ordered a large coke, after paying and picking up two straws she made her way back over to Tony who seemed out of place in the queue, his hair even brighter than some of the natural blondes, she couldn't help but smile at the effort he must have put in just so they could have a normal-ish date, standing next to him, she entwined her fingers with his and leaned up to kiss his cheek, "You're coping surprisingly well," She smirked, resting her head against his shoulder.

"How so?" Tony looked down at her quizzically.

"I mean…" Pepper thought about the nicest way to put it, so not to damage his ego, 'to hell with it, his ego's already over inflated anyway' She thought before speaking again, "It's just that you're not the most patient of people,"

"I can be patient!" He insisted gesturing to their place in the queue to prove his point, "Haven't jump a single place,"

She couldn't help but laugh at how earnest he sounded and squeezed his hand affectionately. Soon enough they were at the front of the queue, Tony paid for their tickets and ignored the look the spotty teen on the counter gave him, hoping that the kid hadn't seen through his 'disguise' and took the tickets before walking to where the screen was, "Think he noticed?" He whispered to Pepper.

"I don't think so," She smirked leaning against him as they walked, "Probably just thought you looked familiar,"

"Haha, very witty," Tony said dryly as he showed their tickets to the woman outside the screen doors where the film was going to be played, "Now c'mon I want some good seats," He grinned as he pulled her up the steps to the back row and sat down.

"Hey you're not the one with a giant, over-priced cola in their hands," Pepper smiled and sat down next to him, placing the drink in the cup holder between the seats and settled her head against his shoulder. Hesitantly, Tony draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer, "Uh this is okay right?" He asked sheepishly, completely perplexed as what to actually do on a 'proper' date and not get slapped in the face.

Pepper smiled affectionately at his cluelessness and titled her head to kiss just below his jaw, "It's perfectly fine," She said softly as the film started, "Now shush, I've really wanted to see this movie," She smirked.

"Alright," He smiled and kissed the top of her head as the film rolled into the opening scene, maybe going on a date wasn't so bad after all, he could definitely get used to this, well as long as he only ever did it with Pepper.

'Wonder if we could make out during the movie?' They both thought simultaneously.

Turns out they did end up kissing quite a fair bit during the movie, but not so much that they were completely oblivious to what was going on in the movie. They left the cinema hand in hand, Tony spoke up as they neared his car, "I liked it, not the best movie I've seen though," He smiled and looked over at Pepper.

"I agree," She nodded and kissed his cheek, "But I can't deny myself a little bit of Daniel Craig," Pepper grinned, it was true Daniel Craig was one of her favourite actors -although she preferred Robert Downey Jr.- but she just wanted to see his reaction, which was priceless.

Gawking at her, Tony tried to get his head around what she had just said, "So you prefer a British actor to me, a handsome genius billionaire, not to mention a _real _hero," Pepper held back a laugh that ended up coming out as a giggle.

"You keep telling yourself that Iron Man," She grinned and shook her head when he pouted, "Oh quit I was just teasing, and anyway, you don't need me boosting your ego, you do that enough yourself,"

"Oh shush you," He muttered, trying not smirk as he held open the car door for her before getting in the car himself and started the engine. There was a comfortable silence on the drive back to Pepper's apartment, and Tony kind of enjoyed it, just having her next to him in the car, usually he was one for going all out and relishing in the noise of parties, it was different, 'Good different' He thought as he parked the car and got out. Pepper smiled inwardly as they returned to her apartment block, she was mildly surprised at just how much of a gentleman Tony had been on their date, it was a side to Tony she hadn't really seen before, and she liked it a lot, she wished that they had come to their senses sooner about how they felt, but then if they had, would it have been the same? She wondered.

Tony walked Pepper back to her door and smiled shyly, "I… uh, I had a really nice time tonight," He said nervously and scratched the back of his head, but dropped his hand when he heard her stifle a giggle, "Hey? What's so funny?" He asked blushing a little.

"Nothing," Pepper replied shaking her head, "I've never seen you so nervous before, it's like you're a teenage boy," She reached up and threaded her fingers through his blonde locks in an attempt to sort out the mess, even though she did love it when his hair was messy

"Gee… thanks," He said blushing an even darker shade of pink, and tilted his head down in embarrassment only to be met with a soft pair of lips brushing with his own, he kissed back softly, reaching a hand up to cup her cheek.

Pulling away after a moment, Pepper smiled, "I think it's cute, and for the record I hate a pretty good night too, now if you don't mind I need to turn in for the night, I've work tomorrow and my boss would kill me if I were to be late," She smirked, reluctantly letting her hand drop from his hair, and kissed him one more time before letting herself into her apartment, leaving Tony in the corridor awestruck. Once Tony had regained his composure he headed back to his car and drove back to his mansion, going to bed as soon as he returned.

The two love-struck adults lay in their respective beds, staring at the ceiling, thoughts reeling through their heads;

**_'I just went on a date with _**Tony Stark**_'_**

**_'I just went on a _**date**_'_**

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**A/N: Ta-da! So there's chapter 3, was is fluffy enough? And I promise I'll get the next chapter up ASAP and if start slacking I'm sure Shannon (acitizenofasgard) will give me a kick up the arse ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: *sneezes* oh man... this story has been gathering dust... I'm a bad person sorry you guys for not uploading sooner, but I'm in year 11 and all this damn school stuff is killing me and I've been procrastinating on tumblr *cough*shannon*cough* ;) anyway the long awaited chapter 4.**

**Disclaimer: Again I still do not own Marvel or RDJ I wish I could but you can't have everything you want *sigh***

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The morning after their first date, Pepper roused from her peaceful slumber, sitting up in her bed, she stretched her arms above her head a yawned before smiling to herself as she remembered what had occurred the previous night, 'He was so nervous' She thought as she kicked the duvet off her legs, 'It kinda suited him'

Climbing out of her bed, Pepper headed to her bathroom to wash and put on her make-up, replaying last night's events in her head, he picked her up, they held hands, the slow intimate kisses they shared in the back of the cinema, it was all so unlike Tony, then again he had changed _a lot _since Afghanistan, he was no longer the Tony Stark that slept with woman after woman, refused to go to meetings and was a complete douche bag to all. He was the New Tony now. Who was sweet –only to her- nor a complete douche anymore –to her anyway, there's just some things you can't change- but either way, before and after him being in captivity for three months, she had always harboured feelings for him, only he had to be kidnapped for her to realise just how deep those feelings were.

After washing, Pepper returned to her bedroom and pulled out her work clothes –white blouse and matching black skirt and jacket- out of her wardrobe, and sat on the edge of the bed before getting dressed. Once dressed, she picked up her phone and keys then left her apartment and made her way to her car, driving to Tony's mansion, stopping off at a nearby coffee shop to buy herself and Tony a coffee for 'breakfast' knowing how stubborn be before a dose of caffeine in the morning.

Tony lay snoring lightly, huddled under his duvet, sleeping surprisingly well, for once he hadn't had a nightmare, he stirred awake from the faint smell of caffeine invading his senses. He cracked open his eyes and smiled softly, "Is it my favourite?" He grumbled, turning hs head to look up at the coffee-bringer.

"Yes," Pepper smiled, paper coffee cup in hand, "Cinnamon Cappuccino, extra sugar, as always," She smirked leaning forward to place the drink on his bedside table and ran her fingers through his hair, grinning when he practically purred, "Now c'mon sleepy head, get up," She lightly shoved him and pulled the duvet back, uncovering his bare torso, causing Tony to shiver at the cool air, then sat down beside him and found herself blushing as she stared at his chest and arms and shoulders, 'Why am I blushing?!' Pepper thought, 'I've seen him shirtless plenty of times, mind you, since using that stupid suit he has become more _appealing_'

Looking up at her he smirked, "Like what you see?" Tony asked, noticing her quite obvious checking out of him, and tried to supress a chuckle when her face and neck turned an even darker shade of pink.

"Seen better," Pepper smirked and abruptly stood, walking swiftly out of his room, "Seriously get showered and dressed, you have a meeting at 11:30," Leaving his room with a grin plastered on her face, glad that her back was to him and left a dumbfounded Tony, who had sat up as soon as she stood, in bed trying to process what the hell had just happened.

"What?!" He mumbled staring at the now closed door. Tony couldn't believe that had just happened, he wasn't even completely sure what _had _actually happened. Shaking his head in disbelief, he picked up the steaming paper cup and necked half of its contents, sighing contently as the taste, before stretching his arms above his head, 'Better get that shower or she'll kill me' He thought and climbed out of bed to go and have that shower, along with trimming the stubble that had started to grow into the familiar shape of his goatee.

Figuring Tony was in the shower, Pepper allowed herself to giggle a little 'His face was priceless!' she thought as she sat on the huge sofa in the mansions living room and pulled out her phone to check and answer a few email while she waited. Glancing at the time, Pepper sighed, 'Eleven fifteen… he's not gonna be down in time,' "Again," She muttered unable to hold back a fond smile, yes it did piss her off to no end that Tony couldn't keep track of time, but if he did then he wouldn't be her Tony… 'why do I keep calling him mine?' She thought, 'We've been on one date for crying outloud!' Pepper shook her head and thought back to that one night,

_Tony had been down in the workshop all day –something to do with the suit- and she'd come down to say goodbye before leaving, only to find the genius passed out on the sofa and ended up covering him up with a blanket. Then she placed a light kiss on his forehead before almost running out of the mansion blushing furiously and prayed to whatever was up there that he hadn't woken up._

Smiling at the memory, she sighed and looked down at her phone, 'better sort this problem out' Pepper thought as she sent an email explaining that they wouldn't be able to attend the meeting, and apologised greatly, 'on Mr Stark's behalf' of course, but sure enough she received an angry phone call from those bastards, she rolled her eyes, she knew how to deal with these people, especially after working with Tony for so many years. Finally she had managed to reschedule the meeting till next week, 'insufferable pricks' she said to herself just as Tony came hopping down the stairs trying to put his shoe on, "I wouldn't bother hurrying now, you're already late and I've rescheduled the meeting to next Wednesday,"

"Wha…? Oh shit!" Tony slipped on the third from bottom step, landing on his backside with a loud thud, he glared in the direction of the sofa when he heard Pepper giggle, yes it was an incredibly cute giggle but he prefered that it wasn't his misfortune that made her make that noise, "And what is so funny Miss Potts?" He asked, pouting.

"Oh, n-nothing, nothing at all Mr St-stark," Pepper said, still giggling but she soon stopped when she noticed Tony had stood and started walking towards the sofa, seeing the familiar look in his eyes, it was the look she'd seen a hundred times, the one he used when he saw a busty blonde bimbo he wanted to take home for the night, but this time it looked different… good different, his eyes were softer yet more intense than she had ever seen them, "…Tony?"

Said billionaire moved to sit next to her, resting his hand on her thigh over her skirt and stared into her eyes, she always looked perfect to him, he could just stare at her all day, "Well now that we have some time together, alone," He murmured huskily, briefly glancing down at her lips, "What do you suggest we do?"

He smirked when Pepper blushed profusely, it was cute, they both knew that if was just a little bit of harmless flirting, but even though they were 'going slow' she couldn't resist to play along, running a hand down the lapels of his suit jacket and glanced down at his lips, "Oh I'm not sure what I have in mind would be appropriate…"

Tony raised his eyebrow, flirtatious Pepper was new, but it was certainly something he would like to see more of, since the start of their… _relationship? _things were certainly changing for the better, like their date the last night it was the best night he had ever had with a woman, better than all the women he'd slept with, everything about their date just felt right and perfect, "Oh? And what would that be?" He smirked, leaning a little closer to her.

"This." She whispered and pulled him forward by his lapels, covering his lips with hers. He hummed appreciatively into the kiss, cupping her cheek with the hand that wasn't on her thigh, to which she leaned her head into his touch, Pepper parted her lips slightly and brushed his lips with her tongue. Moaning lightly as he slipped his tongue out of his mouth to meet hers, Tony moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck and pulled her closer, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. She mimicked his action, sliding one hand up his chest to the back of his neck and played with the soft hair at the nape of his neck which caused him to groan a little, he wasn't really one for people playing with his hair, but Pepper was there to prove him wrong, probably because she wasn't almost ripping his hair out like other girls did. Lifting her legs over his, she pulled herself closer to him, wanting as much contact as possible, and moaned softly as their tongues battled for dominance, she was pretty happy to let him win but it was far more fun to make it harder for him. Tony was about to push her to lie back on the sofa, wanting to get more comfortable as they kissed, when;

"What the hell is going on?"

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**A/N: Dun dun duuuuuun you guys can probably guess who is cockblocking them but i'm not sure who i want to cockblock them so leave a review with who you guys want and i will take your thoughts into consideration ;) I promise to get chap' 5 up ASAP it's the easter holidays for me now so between revising and RPing i will get this done :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So here it is at long last, chapter five :D my sincerest apologies for not updating sooner, writers block coupled with shit load of exams does that to a writer. But for now I have no school so hopefully updates might be a little more regular. Big thanks to both Charlie, for giving me the logical solution to the mystery cockblocker, and Shannon for being my beta for this story ;)**

**Disclaimer: If you don't realise that I don't own Marvel or RDJ (yet) then there's something going wrong in the communication process**

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"What the hell is going on?"

Both Tony's and Pepper's eyes snapped open in shock and they moved away from each other like they had both been electrocuted by the other, and they both tried to act as though they hadn't just been caught having a rather intense make-out session. Tony could feel his neck and ears going red out of embarrassment mixed with slight anger at the person who had interrupted them, and turned his head to see who the 'intruder' was, to his surprise it was someone who he hadn't expected, "Happy? Uh… what you doing here mate?" He asked casually, like he hadn't just been kissing his PA.

"Oh I don't know, to pick you up for your meeting," The ex-boxer said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "But it seems you both had better things to do, care to explain, and don't bother lying,"

"Well uh…" He started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "You see, we're um-"

"I was supposed to call you to say the meeting was cancelled Happy," Pepper interjected, sensing Tony's nervousness, feeling a little sorry for him but also a little hurt that he tried to act like nothing had happened, though she understood his reasons, she didn't want people to know, even those she regarded as her friends, "And fine… here's the truth, Tony and I… we're dating, since, literally, yesterday," She looked up at Happy, trying to see his reaction, she knew that he had once had a crush on her, so she knew he might be a little pissed, "And we want to keep it quiet, you found out by accident…"

The driver looked over at his boss and friend, they seemed like they were serious about this, if Tony's unusual nervous wreck behaviour was anything to go by, he had never seen the billionaire in such a state, "Don't worry your secret's safe with me…" Happy said, noticing how they both visibly relaxed at this, "Just be more careful you know that anyone can walk in unannounced, you want to keep quiet at least make an effort,"

Feeling his blush finally receding, Tony smiled shyly up at his friend/bodyguard/driver and ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to neaten it up, he was pretty sure it was mess after Pepper had had her way with it, he was glad Happy hadn't freaked out about the two of them dating, he remember a few years ago -before Afghanistan- he was talking to the driver and the topic of Pepper came up and he had found out that Happy had a little bit of a crush on their favourite red head, the genius just hoped that his friend's feelings weren't as strong as they once were, "Thanks Happy, and I'll take you advice for once,"

Happy nodded stiffly, smiling very slightly, he was happy for them both, even if he had once had quite the crush on the billionaire's PA, "Good, but if you ever hurt her I will beat the crap out of you Stark," he said seriously, staring down at Tony, "She's like a sister to me,"

This statement shocked both of them, never had they heard their friend threaten Tony nor had they ever heard him refer to Pepper as family, but it was a relief for them both that the driver didn't have feelings, romantically, for the beautiful red head otherwise things would gotten very awkward, coughing awkwardly Happy spoke up once more, "Well… If I'm not needed then I'll be off…"

"Uh, yeah, sure thing Happy," Tony mumbled, still feeling uncomfortable and wanted the driver to leave, but he didn't want to be rude. Unable to take the awkward tension, Pepper stood up, smoothing down her crumpled business attire,

"I'll see you out Happy," She said with a small smile, oblivious to the 'puppy face' that Tony currently had, he didn't want her to leave him, even if it were only for a couple of minutes. Pepper lead the bodyguard back to the front door of the mansion, "Sorry for not calling to say the meeting was cancelled," She murmured, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's fine you got… distracted," Happy smirked slightly at the blush that crept up her cheeks, "I've never seen him like this you know, the way he looked at you when you stood up, it was like he was told he couldn't use the 'shop for a month. He has it bad for you,"

Pepper simply smiled shyly and looked down at the ground, "Yeah… It's different, but nothing I can't get used to,"

Smiling, Happy opened the door and pulled her into a quick hug, "See you later then Pep' and if he acts like a prick let me know,"

"I will, though I doubt that I'll have to," She chuckled and returned the hug before her friend turned to leave, once he had, the red head let out a long sigh and walked back into living to talk to Tony, but he wasn't there, "Jarvis, where is Tony?"

"Mr Stark is currently upstairs in the bedroom Miss Potts," The AI replied curtly.

"Thanks," She nodded and headed upstairs to where Jarvis had instructed, though she was mildly confused when said billionaire was not in his bedroom, Pepper was about to ask the AI again where he was when she heard the shower running, 'Funny…' she thought, 'He already had a shower this morning' still confused, she walked closer to the bathroom door and was about to knock on the door to ask if he was okay, but she could hear grunts and moans from his side of the door, muffled by the running water, then he quite clearly moaned her name. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, hoping to god that he hadn't heard her, she just stood there, unable to believe what she'd somewhat walked in on, it was beyond embarrassing for her and no doubt more so for the two of them if he realised she had pieced together what had happened.

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side if the sound of shower gel bottles falling to the floor and Tony's loud utterance of 'oh shit!' was to go by, Pepper blanched and turned away from the bathroom, moving towards his bed, which at the time seemed the only logical place to move to, she tried to think of a way to react to this, all different scenarios were running through her head, many of which involved hitting or slapping Tony, but she knew running away wasn't going to solve any problems either, so when he came out of the bathroom, hair dripping wet, face as red as the suit and only clad in a pair of boxer shorts, she just sat down on the bed and waited for him to speak.

Tony breathed heavily, how could he have been so stupid, at the time he didn't think 'oh Pepper's gonna come looking for me' all he wanted was a cold shower to get rid of the fucking boner he'd gotten because of a bit of kissing, he felt sixteen all over again, it was embarrassing, "Look, Pepper…" He started, sitting on the bed near her, but still kept a fair amount of distance, sensing that maybe physical contact would be too awkward, "I'm not gonna lie, I was doing exactly what you thought I was. I'm pretty embarrassed that I have to resort to that to sort myself out, cold showers, thinking of Rhodey in a dress-" That earned a bit of a giggle from Pepper, which helped him relax a little "- Nothing works except, my right hand, I know it's crude but… ugh, I haven't had sex in two years!" He groaned and held his head in his hands, he knew it was a lame excuse, but he used to have sex every other night, he's the kind of guy who craves physical contact because it makes it feel more real, then Afghanistan happened and he only had eyes for Pepper so he put the faceless, nameless bimbos aside. Of course that was fine for a while, until his thoughts started to drift to Pepper, and his body started acting like that of a horny teenager who had just discovered porn, "I'm really sorry I was an idiot for thinking it was okay to touch myself when my girlfriend is in the same house,"

Shaking her head, Pepper moved a little closer to him, though still blushing she wasn't too bothered now that he'd explained himself, and it was the explanation she had near enough predicted he would come out with, "It's… okay, I think," She murmured looking down at her hands, "I mean, it's a whole new level of embarrassment, but it's you, and I'm not saying that in a bad way, but for you of all people to be celibate for two years it's uh… quite the achievement," She looked up at him with a smile, glad when he smiled back, "I'm surprised that you don't simply explode from sexual frustration whenever I touch you,"

His body shook as he laughed, "I'm not that damn sensitive you know!" He grinned and lightly shoved her, now that the awkwardness was disappearing little by little. To say he was surprised by her reaction was a bit of an understatement, he was half expecting for her to slap him in the face then storm out, but part of him knew she'd gone without sex longer than him, so maybe she understood where he was coming from, "So, just to clarify, you're not mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you Tony," She clarified, leaning closer to gently kiss his lips, trying to let him know that what she had said was the truth, "Though if I catch you again I might not be so forgiving," Pepper smirked, patting his cheek with one hand as she stood up, "Don't give me that look, you obviously need some 'alone time' and I need to go into the office to sort out the mess you've cause because you missed today's meeting,"

He winced a little, it wasn't that he meant to miss the meeting, just that he may have fallen asleep in the shower earlier, "Sorry…" He mumbled, trying to give her his best 'I'm-innocent-please-don't-hurt-me' face, to which she just laughed so he tried a different tactic to get out of trouble, "I love you!"

Pepper shook her head, to say he could be a pain in the ass a lot of the time, she couldn't stay angry at him for long, and he always managed to make it up to her, and now they were dating she had a feeling his methods of sucking up to her were going to change, "I love you too," She smiled, kissing him softly before she turned to leave the bedroom. Hearing him lie down on the bed and groan, once she'd gone out the door, a wicked smile crept onto her face and she popped her head around the door, "Don't have too much fun without me," She said, barely having time to avoid the incoming pillow then, headed downstairs to her car to go to SI headquarters.

Tony lay on his bed, both hands covering his face as he groaned, still embarrassed and aroused, how he didn't understand, "Well that was awkward…" He muttered.

"I agree sir," Jarvis spoke up, "May I suggest that you refrain from masturbating when others are present in mansion sir, especially so if it is Miss Potts,"

"Oh shut up you wise ass," He remarked, making a mental note to threaten to turn the AI off later on.

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**A/N: Hope you guys liked it, and let me know if there's anything in particular that you want to see happen by leaving a review ;) I will try to get the next chapter up before next year **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So here we are, chapter six, I never thought this story would get this far, I'd like to thank everyone who has favourited/followed and reviewed this story, it means a lot to know that people are liking what a write! :D So as a thank-you the person who gives the 50th review will get a drabble/one-shot written for them using a prompt from them!**

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The Iron Man suit came crashing through the workshop/garage of Tony's mansion, narrowly missing the Hot Rod, coming to a halt when it came into contact with the concrete wall, sparks were flying as the electrics shorted out, one of the boots was missing and there were dents all over. It was a miracle he had made it home, an axe-wielding terrorist had taken a swing at him while he was distracted by others with guns and bombs, the blade slicing through the gold-titanium chest plate, almost cutting the wiring that supplied the suit with power from the miniaturised arc reactor.

"Welcome home sir," Jarvis spoke once the sound of the crash had dissipated, unable to process Tony's physical condition, "It's appears your heart rate is above normal, is everything okay?"

Barely finding the strength to flip himself onto his back, he cried out in pain, his right arm did not feel good at all, he was panting by the time he had finally rolled himself over, and struggled to pulled off the helmet with only his left arm, "No it's not Jarvis… where's Pepper?" He rasped, using his legs to push him up to lean against the wall in a fairly awkward sitting position, gritting his teeth as he tried not to cry out in pain.

"Miss Potts is currently asleep in the master bedroom sir," The AI replied curtly, and pulled up his creators vitals up on the computer screen, "Would you like me to notify her of your return?"

"Please, J'…" He breathed out, leaning his head back against the wall. To hear that Pepper was sleeping in his bed wasn't a surprise, they'd shared a bed quite often during the past month of being a couple, though they hadn't consummated their relationship yet, they were both waiting for the right moment. The bed sharing had started when Tony had gone on a mission a couple of days after their first date, and had returned exhausted and gone straight to bed, only to find his gorgeous red-head in his bed, he'd climbed in without hesitation then held her close to him and she snuggled against his chest as though they had been doing it for years.

As he thought back to times when Pepper had just been there for him, said red-head came running down the stairs and into the workshop dressed in a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts, "Tony!" She cried out, unable to see her boyfriend, "Tony, where are you?" She called out again, then heard a barely audible 'o'er 'ere' and followed the sound, gasping as she saw the state of the suit, "What the hell happened!?"

"Dude… with axe…" Tony replied, looking over at her with an apologetic smile, he knew how much she hated seeing him like this, and he hated how terrified she looked when she did, "I'm mostly fine… can't get suit off…"

Pepper nodded slowly and went over to where he kept his wrenches, picking up a familiar one and taking it back over to him and started prying the suit from him, it wasn't the first time she'd had to remove the suit from him, she'd done it more times than she could count, and though it scared her when she had to help him out of the suit, if comforted her somewhat as she could see for herself what parts were causing him pain, "How's this arm?" She asked gently, having left the right arm till last, not happy with the dent in the metal.

"Hurts… a lot." He murmured, sitting a little more comfortably now that he was free of the suit, cradling his right arm to his chest, he stood, a little unsteadily which caused Pepper to drop the wrench and put an arm around his torso and whispered a soft 'I've got you' as she helped him move over to the small medical scanner he had built for times like this, "Jarvis, check out my arm please, how bad?"

The workshop was silent for a moment whilst their ever faithful AI performed the scan, they could both feel the tension, but neither knew what to say, Pepper was relieved that he'd come home in one piece, near enough, he was bruised with a few cuts but one piece, he'd been gone for three days, whereas Tony was feeling guilty, the mission was only supposed to take a day, he was supposed to be home for their one month anniversary, however things had taken a turn for the worst and had ended up not returning until tonight, a day after their 'month-versary'

"Sorry for not making it home in time…" He mumbled, looking away from her, though he knew she'd say it was fine, he still felt the need to apologise, not just for missing a date or something to do with _them _but for all the other times he'd been an ass over the last ten years they've known each other.

"There's no need to apologise Tony, really," Pepper smiled, running a hand along his left bicep, and put her other arm around his waist, careful not to hurt him. She knew what he really meant when he apologised to her, and she didn't mind that he'd been a pain in the ass for years, because he'd been _her _pain in theass, "You're home in one piece and that's all that matters to me right now,"

He turned his head and smiled weakly at her, how she put up with him he didn't know, however he was grateful all the same, most people would've given up on him by now, and they had, only Pepper had remained by his side for the longest, even longer than what his parents, out of the seventeen years that they'd raised him, they were gone for the most part, 'important business' work they'd said. Dipping his head, he kissed her soundly on the lips, having missed the feel of their lips melding together, "Missed you…" He whispered softly against her lips, resuming the kiss once he'd spoken.

Pepper kissed back gently, still unsure just how injured he was, "I've missed you too," She managed to say before he kissed her again, the hand that was on his arm travelled upwards and tangled in his dark, sweaty hair.

"Pardon the interruption, but the scan is complete sir," Jarvis spoke quietly so to not shock the couple who broke apart as the AI spoke, seeing that the two of them were listening, he decided to voice his diagnosis, "While the bones in your forearm are not broken or fractured, there is quite a lot of severe bruising surrounding it, my advice would be to tightly bandage the affected area until the bruising has healed,"

Tony nodded and withdrew his arm from the scanner, cradling it to his chest once more, "Duly noted Jarvis, thanks," He said, wincing slightly as he moved his arm too much, and turned back to his girlfriend, "Can you grab a screwdriver for me? I'm gonna have to take this off myself…" He murmured, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain washed over him, and he started to limp over to the battered sofa, "Some Advil too please…"

"Sure thing," She nodded, but helped him over to the sofa before retrieving said items along with a bottle of water and sat down beside him, handing him the bottle and Advil, "These first, it'll numb the pain while you get that off," Pepper pointed to the mangled gauntlet, knowing that if he tried to remove it with pain killers he'd struggle a lot more, she watched him take the tablets and empty the bottle of water, "They're gonna take a while to kick in, so tell me what the hell happened?"

He winced, not from the pain, but the tone of her voice, he could tell she was pissed off and worried, but he also knew she'd give him the silent treatment if he didn't tell her, "Alright…" he sighed, running his good hand through his hair, which felt disgusting to say the least, "There were more enemies than I first thought, even Fury didn't know exact numbers, we just didn't realise there were _that _many more," Tony explained as he felt the painkillers begin to kick in, "But I handled it, took down the most hostile first, destroyed as many weapons as possible, then that nut job with an axe showed up and-"

"An axe?!" Pepper almost screeched, bullets and explosions she could deal with, sort of , but the fact that some had gotten close enough to use an _axe _against him, it nearly made her throw up.

"…As I was saying," He said, noting her queasy looking features, he thought if he finished off his 'story' then she might feel a little more at ease, "He showed up and knew that the light in the chest piece powered the suit somehow and took a swing at it," He looked down at the blue glow in his chest, putting his hand over it to reassure himself that it was okay, "But he missed, just, then I flew back home after dealing with all those bastards, look Pep' I'm safe now, you're here to patch me up,"

"I feel a little better now… at least I know what kinda of injuries to expect," Pepper said, smiling weakly, glad that he was somewhat okay and lifted a hand to wipe his damp, sticky hair off of his forehead, then passed him the screwdriver, "You get to work on that, I'm going to find the first aid kit, you need cleaning up," She said as she stood, heading over to his desk in search of the green box.

Not saying a word, he fumbled with the screwdriver in his left hand, though he was ambidextrous he still found it difficult to use his left hand, when he'd gotten a decent grip on the screwdriver, Pepper had already returned first aid kit in hand, he started removing the damaged gauntlet, wincing every now and again despite having taken some fairly strong painkillers. After about fifteen minutes, Tony's arm was finally free of the wrecked suit arm, however they both had a look on their faces that clearly said 'should've kept it on'. His arm from just below his elbow to his first set of knuckles, was almost completely purple, not to mention how swollen it was.

"It looks like I've had a fucking arm transplant with Barney as my donor!" He said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, especially seeing how pale Pepper was.

All she could do was stare at it, the sight of his arm made her feel physically sick to her stomach, letting out a slow breath, she hid behind her mask of professionalism and started to bind his arm with the bandage, doing her best to ignore his reactions, trying to assure herself that she wasn't hurting him, he was already hurt, this was to help him. Pepper taped the end of the material to the rest of it that was adorning his lower arm, the only visible parts were his fingers and thumb, she let out another breath as she turned back to the first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of antiseptic fluid with a sterile gauze, then started to clean up the several cuts and scrapes that covered his face, neck and arms, "Quit being a baby," She muttered as he flinched everytime she dabbed at the open skin, "There all done,"

"Thanks," He murmured, glancing up at her as she tossed aside the bloodied gauze, he was beyond glad that she was here, otherwise he might still be stuck in the suit, and then she mumbled something about it being nothing which caught his attention, he turned to face her, tucking one leg under the other and cradled her face in both hands, "Pepper," He said, with seriousness in his voice, "It's everything, if you weren't here then I'd still be a mess in the suit for several more hours, you're always there to fix me, I haven't a clue why 'cause you looked terrified every time I come home from a mission and-"

"It's because I love you, you idiot," Pepper smiled, closing her eyes as she concentrated on the feel of his calloused, yet comforting hands on her face, the feel of the bandage reminding her of why she was here, "I am terrified every time you come home, I don't know what to expect half of the time, but being able to be the one who puts you back together… it reassures me that you've come back, to me, and that you'll be okay…"

Tony smiled at her explanation, "I love you too," He whispered, his thumbs running over her cheekbones and noted how relaxed she'd become now, the sight made him relax himself and he closed his eyes as he brought her face closer to his own, covering her lips with his in a slow and loving kiss, trying to let her know without words that he would be okay as long as she was there for him, feeling her kiss back, his hands slid down to rest around her waist. Pepper sighed against his lips, loosing herself in the kiss, she ran her hands up his arms slowly to around his neck, taking in every detail of how muscular he'd gotten while using the Iron Man suit, 'suppose there are some perks to being a superhero after all' she thought momentarily, and let out a small squeak against his lips as he lifted her to straddle his lap. He smirked inwardly at her reaction, his hands crept beneath her cotton pj t-shirt, caressing the smooth expanse of her back, moaning as he discovered she wasn't wearing a bra and shivered as he felt her fingers begin to toy with his hair. Desperate for more contact, she pressed her body closer to his, unconsciously grinding her hips against his, and moaned loudly at the sensation it brought, she threw her head back, breaking the kiss, then froze when Tony made a noise that was certainly not recognisable as pleasure.

"Shit!" He cried out, his face contorting in pain and his hands flew down to her hips to stop the motion, "F-forgot about th-that…" He murmured, breathing sharply as he waited for the pain to die down, "Crashed into… w-wall, hip f-first…"

"Oh god Tony! I'm so sorry," Pepper said quickly, climbing off his lap so not to hurt him any further, and lifted his t-shirt a little to see a dark bruise forming around his right hip and winced, "Off to bed," She demanded, somewhat half-heartedly, she had like where their make out session was going, she was fine with not having sex, and she knew Tony was coping, but they'd been together a month and she felt ready, trust him to get himself so injured that they couldn't go through with it.

Groaning, he rested his head on the back of the sofa, he'd thought that tonight was _the night, _the night where he could _show _her just how much he loved her, but no, he had to get himself hurt, and make it pretty impossible to convince that he was okay enough for sex, sighing he thought he'd give it a try as he whined, "But Peeepp-"

"No Tony," She deadpanned, signalling that she wasn't going to budge with her descision, standing up she held out her hand and nodded towards the lift, "Bed now. And no smartass comments, you're going to sleep, and nothing else,"

He nodded solemnly and took her hand as he stood up, letting her lead the way to his bedroom, as he sulked, though he'd never admit, about how tonight was cut short, and soon enough he was lying in bed, dressed in only a fresh pair of boxers and watched as Pepper climbed in next to him, who curled up against his chest, "Night Pepper," He murmured softly, lifting her head to capture her lips in a soft kiss, before closing his eyes, "Love you,"

"Love you too," She smiled, nuzzling her head into his chest, below his chin and entwined her fingers with his, making sure that it was his good hand, "Soon, I promise…" Pepper said quietly, thinking he was asleep, "I want to… but not until you're better…I don't want to hurt you, and I really want our first time to be something special, not just some pent up frustration after a mission, I want it to mean something… Don't wanna be another notch in your bedpost…"

By the time she'd finished her sentence, she was fast asleep, snuggled close to Tony, who unbeknownst to her had heard every word she'd said, and swore to himself that their first time would prove to her that she wasn't just another notch in his bedpost, then before falling asleep he made a note to go and buy a new bed the next day

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**A/N: Voila! Chapter six done and dusted, remember 50th reviewer gets a story written for them!**

**Read and review ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay i think this is the quickest i've ever updated this story, the joys of no school or college :D Also I reached 50 reveiws! Never thought you guys would like this so much but the notifications keep on coming into my email. So the winner of my little competition is Nerdy-Tomboy, so you're gonna get a one-shot/drabble written for you! (i'll PM later on) And thanks to Shannon for being my beta for the whole story :D**

**On with the story...**

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A knock at the door brought Pepper Potts out of her day dream as she sat on the sofa in her apartment, turning her head to the door when the rhythm sounded again, she stood and smoothed down her jeans, then walked over to the door, upon opening it, she smiled widely at the figure stood awkwardly in the door way, who was looking his normal self again, brown sexy-bed-head hair and the signature goatee were back, "Tony!" She grinned hugging him tightly and pulled him into her apartment before anyone saw them together.

"Hey Pepper, I'm here for our date," He smiled pulling back and passed her the bottle of wine he'd been holding, "Brought this," He said and rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Is it okay?"

"It's okay," She smiled and took the bottle from him, it was hard to believe they'd been together for six weeks and by some miracle the press still didn't know, but that did mean their dates couldn't be anything spectacular so not to be seen, therefore their dates usually consisted of dinner's or movie night's at the mansion, but tonight would be their first date at her apartment, she didn't know why he'd insisted they have this date at her place, then again, she didn't know why he did a lot of things.

Seeing that she was obviously overthinking something, Tony cupped her cheek and kissed her deeply as he took the bottle back from her, then left her standing by the door dazed as he went into her kitchen to get a couple of wine glasses and the cork screw, "Pepper…" He sighed with a smile noticing she still stood in the hallway as he went into the living room and sat down on the sofa, "You coming to join me or what?" He smiled, opening the bottle of red wine, Pepper's favourite, he had big plans for tonight, he just hoped things would go okay.

"I'm coming," Pepper smiled and joined him on the sofa, curling up beside him, her feet tucked under him, and an arm wrapped around his right one, the bandage was still wrapped around his forearm and hand, though most of the swelling had gone down the bruising was still terrible, if not worse, some of his arm had turned black rather than purple and he still winced sometimes with it made contact with anything, "How's your arm?"

"Well it's definitely been better," He smirked, shakily pouring the wind into the glasses with his left hand, trying not to spill any onto her cream carpet, and handing her one of the glasses before leaning back with his own, "I'll be back to normal in no time,"

Smiling she nuzzled his shoulder and sipped her drink, "You better be, I hate not being able to be all rough with you," She commented, though still not having actually had sex, their make out sessions were pretty intense, to the point of several awkward boners, she had discovered that he more than loved it when she gave him hickies, the still visible marks on his neck were proof of that, "We going to watch a movie then?"

"Yeah sure, isn't that why I came over in the first place," He grinned, kissing her hair and took a big gulp of his wine, while that was the truth, there was a specific reason why he'd insisted on having a date at her place tonight, "What movie were you thinking of?"

"Oh I don't know… Star Wars Episode V?" She grinned, tilting her head back to kiss his neck, she'd kept her inner sci-fi geek a secret from him, gradually she'd been letting him know various little things about herself, she prefered trousers over skirts, and only wearing them because she knew how much he loved her legs, her favourite food; pizza, and all the other trivial things he should know as her boyfriend.

Nearly choking on his drink, he put his glass down and wiped the trickle of wine from his chin, he was not expecting that for an answer, he thought she would say something along the lines of The Notebook or some or sappy romantic shit, "Uh y-yeah sure… you like Star Wars," He said, letting the new fact sink in, he was glad that she was doing this for him, if he was honest with himself, he hardly knew anything about Pepper, except for where she'd gone to college and her modelling history. He lifted her head up with his forefinger and thumb, covering her lips with his own in a loving kiss, "Star Wars then?" He smiled, when he broke the kiss

"Sure, let just put the DVD in," Pepper said, pulling away from him, placing her glass down beside his as she stood up and walked over to the TV, deliberately swaying her hips, knowing that he would be staring and put on the film then moved back to her position beside him, resting her head on his should, being careful of his still injured arm. Tony wrapped his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip and kissed her hair before reaching to pass her, her glass then picked up his own as the movie started.

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By the time the movie had come to an end, the empty glasses and half full bottle of wine sat left forgotten on the small coffee table, as Tony lay above his gorgeous, perfect Pepper, kissing along her neck, drawing out soft, quiet and shy moans from the red head beneath him, she wasn't the only making content sounds, as her fingers were in his hair, a spot that they'd both discovered as the spot that turned him to jelly, "Mmmm… Pep-per..." He breathed out against her neck.

"Yes Tony?" Pepper smirked, tugging on the strands of his dark locks as her fingers ran through them, she was immensely enjoying this, she wasn't quite sure what had brought this on, but she wasn't complaining, maybe it was due to her comparing to Han Solo, and saying that he'd looks sexy dressed as the character, she wasn't sure, but she was going to make the most of it. Wanting to see his face when he answered her, she lightly pulled his hair to lift his head, their gazes locking with the others.

Breathing heavily, he looked into her beautiful eyes, the blue of her irises barely noticeable due to how dilated her lust filled pupils were, and felt the breathe knock out of him, "I love you Virginia Potts," He whispered, using her real name to show her how much he did love her.

"I-I love y-you too Anthony Stark," Pepper smiled and ducked her head to plant a soft kiss to the reactor, knowing how much it meant to him that she accepted him and the chunk of metal in his chest, the fingers that weren't in his hair lightly traced over the lines of the reactor's triangular design, "You know… I've never thought of this like a chunk of metal like you do, I think it's beautiful…" she whispered truthfully, briefly glancing up at him then returned her eyes to the blue glow, "You made one in a cave, with hardly anything, and it's keeping you alive, that's all I can ask for…"

He stared down her, his eyes wide as his brain processed her confession, to hear why she accepted the reactor overwhelmed him, he didn't know what to say so answered in the only way he knew how to convey his feelings, kissing her deeply, and he poured all of his love he had for her in that kiss then he pulled away and cupped her cheek with his bandaged hand, "Make love to me…"

Looking into his eyes, she felt her heart stop in her chest, the softness in his wide lust filled eyes, that kind of look shouldn't exist, but on Tony it just seemed to _work _and with the seriousness in his voice, Pepper knew his words were sincere and truthful, "Okay…" She smiled, sliding his hand around from his hair and kiss him softly, which he soon turned into a heated and passionate kiss, his left hand slipping under her t-shirt to caress her waist, causing her to arch her body into his touch, moaning softly as the sensation.

Tony's mind was exploding, they were finally doing it… well leading up to it anyway, he could prove to her that he'd truly changed for her and only her, show her how much she meant to him and how much he loved her. He pressed his tongue against her lips seeking entrance to her mouth, she parted her lips willingly and he pushed his tongue past her lips, brushing it against her own, eliciting soft moans from both of them. Not wanting him to be in total control, Pepper slid her hand into his hair again, the other settling in his ass as she battled his tongue with hers, lightly scratching her finger nails across his scalp. The sensation of her nails against his head and her hand groping his ass made him instinctively buck his hips against hers, desperate for the friction it brought. Pulling his lips away from hers, he trailed heated, open-mouthed kisses along her jaw and neck and lightly nibbled the soft skin there, and he smirked inwardly as she squirmed beneath him, "Shall we move this to your bedroom?" He asked sexily, nipping her ear.

"Lets," Pepper smiled, gently pushing him off her using her hands on his shoulders, then shuffled out from beneath him and stood up holding out her hands to him, smiling wider as he pulled himself up and squeaked when he picked her up, her legs reflexively wrapping around his waist and her arms looping around his neck, her fingers toying with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Keeping his arms tightly around her, he kissed her softly as he carried her to her bedroom, his knees going weak from the feel of her playing with his hair. Thankfully, in his aroused/horny state, he didn't bump into anything on his way to her room, kicking the door shut behind him, he broke the kiss, and crawled onto her bed, still holding Pepper close to him. As he laid her down on her pillows, she pulled him down for another kiss her hands going to the hem of his t-shirt, the way he was treating her, it was so different to the way he usually… _used to _treat girls, it was proof enough that he'd changed, but there was still that voice in the back of her head that was telling her he wouldn't be there in the morning. Trying to rid her head of those thoughts, Pepper pulled his t-shirt over his head and threw it across her room somewhere, her lips met with his neck, biting and sucking her aim to leave a mark, a mark to show that he was hers, along with scratching lines down his back, oh how she loved his long, toned back, then she moaned loudly as he grinded his hips against hers in retaliation of the scratching. Overwhelmed by all the sensations that were assaulting him, he growled and sat up, pulling her with him then removed her t-shirt quick as a flash, groaning at the site of her lacy blue bra, she looked so beautiful, pushing her to lie down again, he ducked his head to leave a hickey on her collar bone, knowing the press would have a field trip if they saw hers, as he unbuttoned her jeans, pushing them off and throwing them away once he had then lifted his head to look her in the eye, "Pepper, if you want me stop, just say so," He murmured, not breaking eye contact, "I don't want to force you into anything, you mean too much to me,"

Her heart skipped a beat, he was putting her before him, despite how aroused he was, if the bulge in his jeans was anything to go by, he was still thinking about her, "Would I be lying here, in my underwear if I didn't want to?" She said simply, smirking, kissing him slowly as she fumbled with the zipper on his jeans and pushed them down with her feet.

"Nnggg… wait," Tony mumbled pulling away as she reached for the waistband of his boxers, her hands stopping but stayed where they were, her confused expression looked adorable, "No nothing like that, just, we need protection," He murmured sitting up to retrieve a small foil packet from his jeans.

"You had this planned all along didn't you?" Pepper asked surprised, as he put the packet beside them on the bed and started kissing her neck.

"Yeah…" He admitted, lifting his head to look at her, "I needed to prove to you that you aren't just another notch in my bedpost, and you never will be, this is more than just sex to me, I love you too much for it just to be that,"

She smiled up at him, now she knew why he'd insisted having their date at her apartment, it was to show her he was serious about them, and being at her place meant he couldn't run off in the morning, "You know, it's a good thing you brought that with you," She said shyly, running her fingers through his hair, "Not having sex for nearly four years results in not buying condoms or taking the pill,"

Tony laughed and leant down to kiss her deeply, wanting to rid her of her shyness, just for tonight because he always thought she looked cute when she was shy, "Hmm it is, otherwise we would both be in quite the predicament," He smirked, kissing her over and over, "I love you Pepper,"

"I love you too Tony, now enough messing around," She smirked, and helped him remove his boxers before arching her back to reach for the clasp of her bra, "You've got a reputation to live up to Stark,"

Grinning, the ex-playboy kissed her with renewed passion, determined to show her just how much he loved her, and by the way she was kissing him back, Pepper wanted to do just the same. Agreeing with her comment of 'messing around' Tony reached for the waistband of her underwear, and swiftly removed the final barrier of clothing between them…

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**A/N: Okay so there's not going to be any smut in this story as I don't feel comfortable writing it so sorry to disappoint those who were hoping for it. Next chapter will be set the morning after... and it's not going to be so fluffy :/**

**Read and Review!**


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